This is a front porch in Capitola off 41st Ave. Evening sun only. This deck obviously had a planter of some sort on it for many, many years.  Before having me out,(as you can see) they had this area reinforced.  No wood needed to be replaced.

By 2010, providing the homeowner keeps this area free n’ clear AND has it professionally maintained, you won’t even see the planter mark. True Stories…

This old deck which is located way up in Nisene Marks somewhere needed a real expert.  This deck is in upwards of 25 years old with minimal sun exposure.  These three pictures comprise the wash cycle only.  The last picture is merely a clean, wet deck.  The final step was of course to cover the deck flooring with Biowash Natural Deck Oil and for the rails we decided on a Semi-Solid stain by Cabot.  It turned out just beautiful!!  If I only could have convinced the client to give her entire house a bath as well. 🙂

Water will bead on newly stained wood boards. This phoenomenon will not last forever on a very exposed deck.  By exposed I am referring to decks that get a real good amount of hot sun on a daily basis, AND/OR decks that are susceptible to lots of rain with perhaps limited or no drying times in between.  The water beading in these pics are from a transparent stain job four years ago. This happens to be a covered porch area, protected from sun and rain!!

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I liked how these shots turned out.  The sun was directly behind me @ around 4pm.  If you have a recently built deck(within 5 years or so…) that has NEVER EVER been stained or sealed since being first built, the first picture you see will give you a real close idea as to what the rails will look like after being stained with Biowash Natural Deck Oil(Redwood Tone)

The closeup shot shows big fresh beads of water on this newly renovated decking rail in Aptos, Ca.  It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing!!  You should try it!!

I think this was the project that ruined my camera. I was like 18 ft up on a ladder with the wand in one hand and the camera in the other. I wanted the before and after and my camera paid the price for it. Better it than me!

Rails will typically be stained prior to flooring…

I thought I was finished cleaning this 1700 square foot deck in Scotts Valley when it dawned on me that to properly make this deck right for the client, I would have to cut back the hedges that were growing over the remaining two feet of boards.  I normally ask the client to clear the deck and cut back any flowers, shrubs, or the like.  In this case I forgot, but in the true spirit of fair business practice, I made it right.  I DON’T DO WINDOWS THOUGH!!! 

…when the deck looks somewhat like this.  Stripping existing materials is time consuming and environmentally disruptive.  Although a quality transparent stain is usually the material of choice, if the deck has an existing solid stain or paint on it already, the most cost effective and environmentally sound approach is to wash and re-apply a “water-based” solid color decking stain.  This particular run-down, two-tone deck on the upper West-Side of SC was in desperate need of a face lift before being put on the market for sale.  Mas mejor!

..it’s a common theme

 

This one took several passes..

This deck railing is about five years old.  It is located in the Carbonera area of Santa Cruz.  It receives about ten hours of sun per day in the summer time.  No stain yet on these rails, just looking cherry from being recently washed and still wet. What a difference a little love can make…

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It’s easy……………….

I like this series of pictures because it shows something that is very, very important!!  The picture on the far left is obviously a “before shot”. However…had I not washed and stained this very deck two years prior, the before shot would look much, much different than it does here. The boards would most likely be heavily greyed in color taking on a very weathered look.  Instead, albeit dirty and riddled with bird shit, they aren’t grey or weathered whatsoever which really says alot about this quality staining job.  The rest of the pictures in this series kind of speak for themselves.  It’s rare that I get a fully cured “after shot”.  Nice color huh?

Although these Scotts Valley residents were thrilled with the end result,  I felt a bit differently with this 500 s/f deck.  There was definitely a night & day difference after it was finished, it’s just that  sometimes a deck needs a couple of years of good old fashioned TLC before it finds its groove for the long haul.  This was one of those decks.  It was fairly new construction.  It was neglected.  It was built in several stages.  It had fading material on parts of it.  We definitely got it going in the right direction.

Santa Cruz pressure wash Santa Cruz pressure wash Santa Cruz pressure wash san sant sa ss Santa Cruz, Soquel, aptos, capitola, live oak, San Jose Soquel avenue hwy 17

Here are some different looks at various times of the day for a couple different wood decks.  Have a look…..

1. 2.

3. 4. 

The first pic demonstrates dirty boards on the left vs. clean boards on the right.  It’s important to note that in both cases, the boards are wet.  Which side looks dangerously slippery to you?? The second pic demonstrates dry, clean boards on the left side vs. freshly stained boards on the right. As you can tell,  clean boards that are wet(pic 1)and clean boards that have dried(pic 2) look completely different.  It’s also important to note that Transparent Stain goes on dark until it has had a chance to dry, at which time it takes on a much lighter, more natural look.  [segway]

Pics 3 and 4 have been posted to show a color that is pretty “typical” after stained boards have had a chance to dry.  This 10 yr. old deck in Santa Cruz, CA gets plenty of afternoon sun and plenty of fog as well. Sweet.